Humans are dirty creatures. They're also dirty, dirty liars. That's the conclusion of a study conducted in Britain that found one in six mobile phones in the UK to be contaminated with E.coli bacteria from fecal matter.

The Guardian's David Battey reports:

Researchers said that 16% of the devices were contaminated with E. coli, which can cause food poisoning, most probably because people fail to properly wash their hands after going to the toilet. The study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, also found that Britons tend to lie about their personal hygiene.

While 95% of the 390 people surveyed said they washed their hands with soap where possible, 92% of mobile phones and 82% of hands were contaminated with bacteria.

Dr Ron Cutler, of Queen Mary, University of London, said: "While some cities did much better than others, the fact that E coli was present on phones and hands in every location shows this is a nationwide problem.

"People may claim they wash their hands regularly but the science shows otherwise."

The moral of the story? Don't lie to science — you'll just wind up embarrassing yourself. Also: WASH YOUR HANDS, YOU FILTHY DECEIVERS.